Buying pre-owned gas or diesel

I've been shopping around for a pre-owned truck 2008 and up, and I've got myself in a dilemma. Looking at gas half-tons with 40k to 100k (km), price seems to be anywhere from $25,000 - $35,000 give or take. Noticing some 3/4 ton diesels with 130k to 160k for around the same price. Warranty is up at 140k if I'm not mistaken, which is probably why there is such a massive price drop on the diesels around that mileage. A 3/4 ton diesel could be handy in my position, but initially my intentions were to get something with low km without eating the dealer sticker price. Would it be foolish to pay a bit extra and get a diesel with more km? I find myself hooking to a trailer often enough that it could be justified. I know diesels are more expensive to fix, yada yada yada, but if I could get 70,000 km out of it without any major problems I'd be laughing. I'm looking at LTZs by the way, she's gotta be loaded.

I don't know what prices are like for new Silverados up in Canada, but depending on the trim level, you can get a new 2500HD 4WD crew cab here in the US for under $40K with the WT package.

Now a new 2500HD LTZ 4WD with 6.0L engine is $52K without sunroof and navigation here in the US.

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My local dealer doesn't have any 6.0Ls listed so I can't make a good comparison, but a truck like your 1500 is worth $55,000 (what did you pay for yours if you don't mind me asking??). Actually your truck is exactly what I was looking for when I started shopping for pre-owned, then these diesels caught my attention. I'm not interested in the 6.0L anyway, if I'm buying an HD I'm getting the diesel. New question. Is 150,000km (94,000mi) starting to be high mileage for a 2500/3500? To me it seems likely that it would start to need front end work, shocks/struts, brakes, u-joints etc. right around 150,000km (94,000mi), but I'm not too knowledgeable when it comes to these newer HDs.

My local dealer doesn't have any 6.0Ls listed so I can't make a good comparison, but a truck like your 1500 is worth $55,000 (what did you pay for yours if you don't mind me asking??). Actually your truck is exactly what I was looking for when I started shopping for pre-owned, then these diesels caught my attention. I'm not interested in the 6.0L anyway, if I'm buying an HD I'm getting the diesel. New question. Is 150,000km (94,000mi) starting to be high mileage for a 2500/3500? To me it seems likely that it would start to need front end work, shocks/struts, brakes, u-joints etc. right around 150,000km (94,000mi), but I'm not too knowledgeable when it comes to these newer HDs.

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The sticker price on my truck was $44,000. With the Canadian and US dollars being nearly equal, why does my truck cost $11K more up in Canada? I guess taxes up there are MUCH higher then the US.

IIRC, I think I negotiated the price of the truck down to $38000, the dealer then gave me $18000 for my 2008 Silverado. GM had some really nice rebates going at the time.

Just curious...why 2008 or newer? You can save a lot on a low-mileage gas or diesel if you step back a few more years. You will not be giving up anything in reliability, if it has had good maintenance. Since you want one that is loaded, that is one way to get what you want without paying a whole lot.

If you need power for heavy duty towing or carrying full loads, diesel is the way to go, but diesel fuel cost more and since they are only in big block form, they use a lot of fuel. Diesel engines do not wear out as readily as a gas engine but everything that hangs on the truck does. Transmissions are bigger and more expensive, rear ends, and all the stuff that make a diesel work, such as injectors and all kinds of sensors. Diesels may take 8-12 quarts of oil, bigger radiators, bigger tires, bigger brakes, all relate to high cost of a diesel truck.

In the North American market, diesels were sold as MORE power for HD use. They were never sold as more efficient than gas models though a gas block at the same size would use more fuel. If you're in the market for a used truck because you cannot afford a new truck, a used diesel may cost more to operate and to keep it going than a run of the mill gas truck. If you're a good mechanic and not afraid to dive into the repairs, you can go either way.